NFL officials were concerned about fire extinguisher residue after fireworks mishap delays start of Rams game

The start of the Rams-Steelers game was delayed after pregame fireworks set part of the turf on fire. The league wanted to make sure chemicals from a fire extinguisher didn’t harm the players. As the Rams starting offense was being introduced, a flame from a pyrotechnic machine caught the turf on fire.

Edward Jones Dome employees ran onto the field to extinguish the fire, but the residue left a small mess. Employees used a broom, shop vac and mop and bucket to clean the turf, which delayed the game about 20 minutes. One Rams official said the fire extinguisher label warns of “antifreeze irritant” and the biggest concern was that players would get the residue in their eyes.

The Rams quickly called their medical staff.

Head coach Jeff Fisher thought everything was handled appropriately.

“The most important thing that we did was we had our team physician come over and identify the ingredients on the fire extinguisher and there were toxins in there. It was toxic and it was powder and so we had to get that up because it could cause irritations for the eye. Then when we realized it was going to take a little bit of time, it made sense for us to come in and relax and then we come back out and we stretched. I thought the league handled everything very well from an officiating standpoint.”